Hermana Eliason: Life is just so GREAT!

[lots of pictures!!]

On Monday we had a district trip to the Capital, which included a super interesting mask museum! I took a ton of pictures and there were billions of masks. We all had so much fun and the day flew by.

Here is our district! We all went to the center of the capital and did another tour of the city together, then went out to eat! We had such a fun day and they are all so great!!

Here I am at the mask museum. I took a TON of pictures here!

Yeah, we had a good time ;) hahaha

This was a cool statue of a man playing with his two children

So if you give this man dressed as a statue a coin he lets you pick a little piece of paper from this box that tells your fortune.

It was super cool :) and we all chose our fortune

These pictures TOTALLY describe each of us SO well ;) haha

In the evening, we planned to visit a man who we had contacted the other day outside his house. He wasn’t home, but his 18 year old daughter accepted a message from us - and it turns out, she has a Mormon friend. But what really amazed me was that 2 days ago she told us that a man from work had given her a Book of Mormon and told her that she should read it! It was a strong testimony builder that God is truly preparing people to hear and accept this message. She was very open and interested and promised to start reading :) Afterwards, we had a Family Home Evening with 2 families and watched a short Mormon Message about prayer and then discussed the topic and shared some experiences we’ve had. It was great.

Tuesday we helped our district leaders look for a house or apartment for rent, because next week we’ll be receiving 2 new elders in our district. These new elders will be working in a portion of our area, because there is just a ton of work and people to teach. Then afterwards, Fernanda made visits with us. It was fantastic, because she just got back from her mission a month ago and I could still see the “missionary glow” in her. She helped out in the lessons and even offered to pick up some investigators on Sunday before church! Around 4:30 we arrived at the bus central to catch the 5:00pm bus to Aguascalientes. I’m not a huge fan of sitting on buses for long periods of time :/ But, I made the best of the 3 hour trip by listening to General Conference talks from my iPod - so that was good. When we arrived at the Colina’s house with the other Sister Teacher Leaders, we all were so happy to see each other again and catch up. We ate ice cream and pretty much just hung out in the kitchen telling stories and laughing :) They are all so fun (There are 10 Sister Trainer Leaders in total for the entire mission.)

All the sister training leaders

Wednesday we had the reunion with the Mission President, his wife, his 2 assistants, and all the zone leaders and other Sister Trainer Leaders. It was a great counsel meeting that inspired us all. We set goals for the mission, and talked about how we could all improve. I loved the Spirit I felt and everything I learned.

We all ate breakfast and lunch together - and since Hermana Mora and I sat next to the President & his wife, we got to hear about some of the plans they have for Christmas! I can’t believe that Christmas is coming so soon! Wow.

Thursday, after planning, we visited several investigators. It was really saddening when we visited Irma, because she said she didn’t want to get baptized anymore :( Apparently, her sister (who is a Jehovah’s Witness) put a bunch of crazy ideas into her head and now Irma said she won’t be coming to church anymore. It was so heart-breaking. And even though we explained that the real answers come from God, she had already made up her mind to stick with her sister’s opinion.

Me and Hermana Barlow

The zone reunion on Friday went well. I talked about how to encounter more people to teach and the importance of contacting everyone. And I also learned from the topics that Hermana Mora and the zone leaders discussed. We set several new goals as a zone and it was easy to feel the Spirit. I love our zone and am bummed that several of the elders and sisters will be having changes next week. I took a few photos with the sisters who I had exchanges with during these past 6 weeks :) Friday night we taught a young mother with 2 of her daughters for the first time. She was totally open and receptive to the message we shared and it all went so smoothly. Then we visited the Relief Society activity that was taking place at the church - our sisters in the ward are so amazing.

Here I am with Hermana Crosby and Hermana Brannelly

Saturday morning, Thalia accompanied us in a visit. I love her because she’s an ex-missionary and has great tips and advice. And as a Sister Trainer Leader, we are always counseling the sister missionaries, but no one is counseling us!

I actually liked hearing constructive criticism from Thalia and set some new goals for myself :) She is a great example of the type of ex-missionary I want to be one day. She is always willing to make visits with us, and is involved in all the church activities. She is dynamic and witty and has a positive outlook on life. Then another member accompanied us in a visit with one of our investigators named Lulu, who has a hair salon. Oh, and get this - apparently Lulu remembers the member (Hermana Olga) who came with us, because they both were in the hospital at the same time when they gave birth to their children, who are now 6 years old! Crazy cool how the Lord works :)

SUNDAY WAS THE BEST! Teodulo and Maria and Lulu all came to church!! I was literally bursting with joy! All the members welcomed them and made them feel right at home. Hermana Mora and I gave the sacrament meeting talks. (I spoke about the importance of the members working with the missionaries.) Teadulo Maria, and Lulu stayed for the whole 3 hours. In fact, Maria almost made me cry because of a super sincere and sweet comment she made about Hermana Mora and I in Relief Society. It was just so perfect.

In the evening, we made several other visits and received the news that Hermana Mora and I don't have changes! woop woop! We get another 6 weeks together :) Lots of missionaries in our district and zone had changes, so it's sad but kinda exciting because we'll be seeing some new faces :)

Oh, fun fact: this week I finished reading the entire Book of Mormon in Spanish! It took a little over six months, so I've started at the beginning again in hopes of reading through one more time before I come home. It was such an amazing experience. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I wish everyone could take the time to read this incredible book for themselves. It contains so many answers to life's questions and contains the history and communication from God to the ancient inhabitants of the American continent! How cool is that?! Hope you all have an excellent week. I love you and miss you all!

xoxo,

Hermana Eliason

[more pictures]